DIY Mash Tun Cooler, help!

[hs0656]

So this past Memorial Day weekend, I picked this 48 Qt cooler up at Dicks for $10. The cooler was so cheap I couldnt pass it up. The mash tun is the only item I have left before I start brewing all grain. The one question I have is, do you think that the way I have rigged the manifold up will work? I found a tube that will fit perfectly and makes a fairly tight connection inside the 1/2 dia CPVC pipe. My worry is, will the weight of the grain and water push the tube downward potentially pulling it out of the pipe holes? Or maybe compress the tube to where it could interfere with flow? I looked through literally every photo of manifold set-ups that I could find and non of them really helped me that much. Unfortunately like some coolers have, this one doesnt have the channel that slopes downward to the spigot.

Any corrective actions or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. I still have a little pipe left. I thought that if I moved the T and the 90* closer the the spigot hole, it would be less of a chance that the plastic tubing could be compressed/crushed. The main issue is the height of the 90* in comparison to the height of the spigot hole. P.S. I used Palmers guide on the measurements for this set up. Thanks to all in advance!!

 

[BendBrewer]

What is the temp rating of that hose?

 

[lostboysbrew]

How I did mine, shorten it where the thin black lines are. And the "T" joint in the black box I rotated up 45 degrees and got a 45 degree elbow so that about 1" pvc connects the T to the 45 then 1" pvc connects the 45 to the hole and connects to that coupling.

My $.02, but works great!! 85% efficiency. Good luck. Another option is to get rid of the hose and make it the CPVC.

 

[sketerbuck]

You are going to have a lot of dead space and wasted wort from this setup. I don't think that tube will hold up either. You can replace that tube with a piece of pvc and a union that comes apart

 

[beerkrump]

+1 on getting rid of the hose and using a length of cpvc.

If you have one of those heat guns for removing paint, you can heat the cpvc and bend it if needed.

On your outlet, make sure you use a length of pipe that will brings your flow below the bottom of your tun to get the benefit of the siphon created. That way it will draw out wort until air get to the holes in you manifold.

You're batch sparging right?

 

[hs0656]

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/101/5787697288d5e20410ccb.jpg/

How I did mine, shorten it where the thin black lines are. And the "T" joint in the black box I rotated up 45 degrees and got a 45 degree elbow so that about 1" pvc connects the T to the 45 then 1" pvc connects the 45 to the hole and connects to that.

Another option is to get rid of the hose and make it the CPVC.

Im confused by the black square you posted. Do you happen to have a photo of your set up? And I would really prefer cpvc, it juat wont connect the way its set up now. Id have to do a little modifying which im perfectly ok with (and why im asking for help). Just dont really understand what you mean with tilting the T to 45 and installing a 45* coupler.

 

[hs0656]

You are going to have a lot of dead space and wasted wort from this setup. I don't think that tube will hold up either. You can replace that tube with a piece of pvc and a union that comes apart

Why would I have dead space and wasted wort? The setup should work according to everything else Ive read. And I am going to replace the hose with cpvc somehow. But as long as the siphon hose is long enough, why would I lose wort? Elaborate please sir?

 

[hs0656]

+1 on getting rid of the hose and using a length of cpvc.

If you have one of those heat guns for removing paint, you can heat the cpvc and bend it if needed.

On your outlet, make sure you use a length of pipe that will brings your flow below the bottom of your tun to get the benefit of the siphon created. That way it will draw out wort until air get to the holes in you manifold.

You're batch sparging right?

I do have a heat gun. I also intend on batch sparging. I have a long hose hose that will be connected to the ball valve which should permit ample siphon I would imagine.

 

[hs0656]

So Ive modified the best I could with the items that I have on hand. I took a video of it. It seems to drain almost all the water out with the exception of about 1-2 cups. You can see it at the end of the video. How well do you think this is in terms of efficiency??

 

[npauley88]

So Ive modified the best I could with the items that I have on hand. I took a video of it. It seems to drain almost all the water out with the exception of about 1-2 cups. You can see it at the end of the video. How well do you think this is in terms of efficiency??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L_7cfOrcSs

I used a similar setup and easily got mid 70s efficiency with it, keep in mind there are other variables to consider regarding efficiency

 

[hs0656]

I used a similar setup and easily got mid 70s efficiency with it, keep in mind there are other variables to consider regarding efficiency

Very true, where is a good place to look for some type of efficiency calculator? i.e. How do you know youre getting mid 70's?

 

[wilserbrewer]

That should work fine. Batch sparge i ASSume?

 

[hs0656]

That should work fine. Batch sparge i ASSume?

Yes sir, batch sparge it is. However, if I eventually want to move up to fly, will this current setup create a problem?

 

[lostboysbrew]

Yes sir, batch sparge it is. However, if I eventually want to move up to fly, will this current setup create a problem?

you can fly sparge with it.........thats all i did with it. created a second manifold with a second cooler as an HLT.....ran that water thru and sprinkled it over....worked great....like i said, got 80-85% efficiency.........

sorry for the crude drawing, no pictures of it as its at my buddies pending sale.......

basically the "T" is angled and connected to a 45 degree piece and sent right out the spigot.....lot less travel the wort needs to make........

 

[SHOOK]

Did mine similar to drawn above... The trick is to use the 45 degree instead of the 90 degree and ALSo instead of 1 long tube in the middle... Do a couple short run tubes ... This will let you angle the 45 degree piece down to get even lower and more inline with your bulkhead

 

[hs0656]

Shook and lostboys, thanks to both of you for the advice. Its really been a great help and is definitely appreciated!